Method and system for ranking results and providing lists of experts from social networks

Abstract

There is described a method and system for obtaining ranked search results including names of experts who are members of a social network and presenting the ranked search results to a user performing a search from a user interface of a user device. The user is registered on the social network and has connections thereon. The method comprises: indexing data representative of activities of the members on the social network to produce indexed activity data; receiving a search query relative to a subject along with a user identifier from the user device; using the search query and the user identifier, ranking members from the user's connections based on their activities on the social network related to the subject to obtain ranked experts for the subject; returning the names of ranked experts for the subject to the user device for presentation on the user interface.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001]This application is filed under 37 CFR 1.53(b) as a continuation-in-part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 346,342 filed Jan. 9, 2012. This application claims priority under 35 USC §120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 346,342 filed Jan. 9, 2012 and entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AGGREGATING SEARCHABLE WEB CONTENT FROM A PLURALITY OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AND PRESENTING SEARCH RESULTS”, the specifications of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.BACKGROUND [0002](a) Field[0003]The subject matter disclosed generally relates to web search and presentation tools. More particularly, the disclosure relates to searching users' social networks.[0004](b) Related Prior Art[0005]Tremendous changes have been occurring in the World Wide Web (the “Web”) that influence our everyday lives. For example, online social networks have become the new meeting grounds. The development of such online social networks...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This approach enhances the relevance and usefulness of search results by leveraging social network data to identify experts within the user's network, providing personalized and contextually relevant information, thus improving the quality of search outcomes.

Problems solved by technology

However, the information obtained by searching the Web is often generic and does not account for the searcher's level of education, location, socioeconomic status or the like.

For instance, the user's background or knowledge in the subject matter may not match that of many of the search request results.

Although some responses could be highly relevant, a large number of the responses can have low usefulness or relevance to the user's request.

However, the responses may be sporadic, have no organization and may be repetitive of other requests made within the social network.

Images